A friend plans to go to USA in June. There he wants to rent a car to travel through the country. Unfortunately, he got a speeding ticket during the last weeks now his driving license is suspended for half a year.

Is he now still allowed to rent and drive a rental car in the USA? He argues that the license ban is only valid in his home country and not in foreign countries, but is this really true?

He has still his driving license that he could show the police in USA, and I think they have no chance to check if it is banned here?

1 Answer
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Presuming he still physically has his license, and it has an expiry date beyond when he will be renting the car, then he will most likely be able to physically rent a car. If he is pulled over by the police, then he will most likely be able to lie and claim that his license is valid, and he will probably get away with it.

However doing that will be illegal on many levels.

Firstly, when renting a car, part of the rental agreement is that you have a valid drivers license and are legally allowed to drive in the country you'll be driving in. As his license has been suspended he will NOT have a valid license, and will NOT be legally allowed to drive in the US. Thus by renting the car he will be committing fraud.

Next, by actually driving, he will be driving without a license. Most countries (including the US) allow you to drive based on having a valid license in your home country. He does not, thus he will be driving illegally.

When driving without a license, any insurance coverage he has (including the rental car companies (self-)insurance, travel insurance, etc) will be invalidated. He will be fully responsible financially for any accidents he causes, and very probably even if he isn't at fault. If he is involved in an accident you can all but guarantee that they will check on the validity of his home-country license, and not just take it for granted that it's valid.

If he is pulled over by a police officer it's unlikely they will be able to tell that his overseas license is suspended, but if they can then he will definitely be charged, which will not only come with a hefty fine, but will leave him in a very unfortunate position as far as returning his rental car is concerned as they will not let him drive it to return it to the rental company.

So can he rent a car? Yes.

Will he get away with it? Probably.

Will he be breaking countless laws and potentially risking prison time? YES! (Driving without a license in California can lead to up to 6 months prison, I'm presuming other states are similar)

For reference, in some (all?) European countries you have to show a valid driving license to be able to rent a car. It doesn't need to be the same person (as long as the accompanying driver is present, naturally). In my home country, if I'm suspended I have to leave my license with the traffic authorities until it is reinstated, and I won't be able to show squat to the rental agency.
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mindcorrosive♦Apr 30 '12 at 12:38

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This is basically true all over the world. If he physically still has the license, he'll be able to rent (albeit not legally). Without the physical license, he has zero chance.
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DocApr 30 '12 at 16:21

At least here if your license is suspended it is physically confiscated and not returned until the suspension is lifted. And even if not, he'd still be illegal to drive anywhere, were he to get in trouble driving in the US the police in his home country would notify US law enforcement of the suspension and he'd be in even deeper sh*t.
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jwentingMay 3 '12 at 9:14

Are you really sure that you can get legally into trouble? I always thought that the ban is only valid in one country.
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RoflcoptrException♦Dec 19 '12 at 22:36

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@RoflcoptrException Typically what people mean by that is that if you are caught abroad doing something that could result in a ban, there isn't necessarily a way to suspend your license in your home country. The catch is that your right to drive abroad is derived from having a valid license in your home country in the first place so even if the ban only applies to this country, on what basis would you drive elsewhere?
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RelaxedFeb 5 '14 at 10:18